Two spectators enjoying the parade.(Source: http://www.karneval-in-duesseldorf.de/)

Rhineland’s Carnival season begins on the anniversary of the WW1 armistice – the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. The season rests over Advent and Christmas then recommences in January. It culminates in a pre-Lent, week long celebration where everyone has their fill of what they enjoy before they give it all up for Lent from Ash Wednesday.

The Monday before Ash Wednesday is called Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) when big parades and gatherings take place in various cities. Köln (Cologne) is considered to have the best parade taking about 6 hours to pass by. Many people of all ages take part in the celebrations and wear fancy dress costumes. They really go to town and enjoy themselves. It’s all well organized to ensure all goes well and there are clubs and guilds dedicated to it. TV is full of it with shows on different nights from different places. Many videos of the parades and other events are available on YouTube. Click the following link for one with an English commentary about The merrymakers at Cologne Carnival

Karneval Lied (Carnival song)

Each year a Karneval Lied is chosen. The first one I heard and have never forgotten is “Humba Tätära“, first performed by Ernst Neger on February 5, 1964. It was a huge hit, sung everywhere. In a 2009 TV vote on the 111 largest carnival hits, it ranked third. Jean & I saw him singing it on the TV carnival show from Mainz in 1965 and 66. To see a YouTube video of him singing it and a later carnival song (that you might recognize) click here. The first placed carnival song in the 2009 vote was “Heal, Heal Gänsje” also sung by Ernst Neger – a much gentler song – and also available on YouTube. He died on 15 January 1989, one day after his 80th birthday.

In the UK, a satellite receiver and dish pointed at Astra 19.2E will receive the German free-to-air (freeview) TV channels. WDR is broadcast from Köln and SWR from Stuttgart so full coverage of carnival is available.

Some of the crowd on the street.(Source: http://www.fnp.de/rhein-main/karneval_2014)

Dressing Off

‘By the right (left) DRESS’ – Individuals in the front rank except those on the extreme right side turn their heads to the right and raise their right arms parallel to the ground in order to get the proper distance from each other. In other ranks, all except those on the extreme right turn their heads to the right. When all movement has ceased, arms are brought smartly down and heads turned to the front, starting at the right, those on the left following on in rapid succession.

If the command ‘Right DRESS’ (rather than ‘By the right DRESS’) is given, heads and arms are kept in position until the command ‘Eyes FRONT’.

If the command is ‘Left DRESS’ or ‘By the left DRESS’, heads are turned and arms raised to the left.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_commands)

RAF Brüggen, Astra Cinema, 2009

Match Report

Jock's 'Jimmy'

Spot the differences:
– a Fire bucket instead of a crown.
– a squaddie in battle dress with bulled up boots, carrying a beer tankard and mop, instead of Mercury
– Grog N Grind instead of Certa Ceto
– a Tivoli beer mat with ticks on instead of an atlas

Shiny Toe Caps

‘Bulled’ toe caps

Keith Durrant

Keith Durrant at 16 Sigs.(Courtesy of Keith.)

Keith and I first met during our respective T3 courses at 8 Sigs. We met sharing the back of a Morris Minor van with others getting a lift down the A1 a few times. It was winter ’62-’63 and was very cold in the van but it was a lift. There may have been four of us in the back plus one up front with the van owner. I can’t remember the owner’s name but he was a nice guy, also on his T3. With his WW2 pilot’s moustache he looked as if he belonged in the RAF. Keith said he was indeed ex-RAF.

After 1966, Keith and I made contact again in January 2007.

Beer mat ticks

Courtesy of Sandy at http://www.rowdyingermany.com/The practice of bars was to allow customers to effectively have ‘tabs’. The tabs would be kept on beer mats. The first glass of beer per customer was always served on a beer mat. A mat would have a tick made on it for each beer served. The photo shows that four beers have been served. As more beers are ordered they are either added to the same mat or marked on another mat. The ticks are counted to make up the bill when leaving the bar. To save time and errors the fifth beer would be shown by striking through the four previous ticks. In this way blocks of five beers could be quickly counted.

The 70 mph speed limit was introduced in the UK as a temporary measure in December 1965 and became permanent in 1967.
(Source: http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/faq.html)

Guard Duty 'Stag'

Patrolling a defined area for the purpose of security. Anyone you encountered was to be challenged with, ‘Friend or foe?
The term ‘stag’ is thought to derive from the behaviour of Red Deer where herds tend to have one or more members watching for potential danger while the remaining members eat and rest.

Telegraph Technician (Tele. Tech.)

Concerned principally with the maintenance and repair of telegraph equipments. His basic training is similar to that of the Line Technician but, owing to the nature of his work, training is more practical, with more emphasis on manual skills than the other technician trades. This bias towards practical skills persists throughout his career as a Telegraph Technician. (Extract from RS Careers booklet.)

GE and GM

(1) GE (Google Earth) and GM (Google Maps) update their imagery about every 3 – 5 years.
(2) GE and GM don’t use the same source and are not in sync.
(3) GE has more up to date imagery than GM but requires the GE app on your device.
(4) When GM updates its’ images, positions change slightly relative to the window I set and so may be off my intended target.

Regular vs Call-Up

Regular Service as distinct from National Service.

When I joined, Regulars signed up voluntarily to serve “with the colours” for a period of either 6 or 9 years. To be followed by a period of years in the Army Reserve. Colour service was extendable for up to 22 years.

National Service, also called Conscription or Call-up, had ended on 31 December 1960, and the last National Servicemen left the armed forces in May 1963. From 1950 call-up was for a two year period, voluntarily extendable by one year.

There were still National Servicemen in service when I joined and this was very evident in the manner in which we were treated – old army.